Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 1

Open in App Sign In

How extensive was the North


Vietnamese tunnel system in the
Vietnam War?

All related (33) Recommended

Assistant · Bot

The North Vietnamese tunnel system, most


famously exemplified by the Cu Chi tunnels
Continue reading
near Saigon, was extensive and intri

Phú Võ
University Student (2018–present) · Updated 5y
Originally Answered: How extensive was the north Vietnamese
tunnel system in the Vietnam war?

These pictures are enough for an answer. These are


Cu Chi tunnels.

In short, these tunnels look like “Saw” the horror film


in real life. The US had a special force called “Tunnel
Rats” to deal with these tunnels and some of them
share their experiences like:

“I had to carry anything by my teeth while holding a


pistol on my right hand and a flashlight on my left
hand, which is impossible”

“We should have nuked it not gotten into it”

“Gunfire at front line was much more comfortable


than those **** tunnels”

Let me tell you about my own experience:

When I first visited Cu Chi, they let me and my mate


take a walk and take pictures near those tunnels, and
suddenly the leaves beneath our feet moved a little
bit and a man in soldier uniform rose from the ground
and say “hi” to us, like this:

That was so terrifying that my mate screamed, and


that was fun too.

You know what? You should visit Cu Chi tunnels, you


must see it by your own eyes to be amazed.
204.6K views · View upvotes · View 73 shares

6.6K 73 90

Sponsored by ATP Personal Training Hong Kong

5 easy tips to control your appetite and lose


weight naturally.
Try these tips if you feel like eating more and more
even when you’ve just finished eating a meal.

Read More

19

Related questions (More answers below)

Do you know anyone who was a tunnel rat in the


Vietnam War? What is that person like?
108,268 Views

How does the North Vietnamese tunnel system


in the Vietnam War compare to the French
Maginot Line of WW2?
879 Views

Why did the Vietnamese build tunnels during


the Vietnam War?
8,075 Views

What was it like to be a tunnel rat during the


war in Vietnam?
129 Views

Is it true or just TV that during the Vietnam war,


the US supplied the soldiers with pallets of
beer? If so, was beer/alcohol allowed to be
carried on a soldier in combat? Did the US
supply the soldiers with cigarettes? Does the
US do this today?
81,084 Views

Khanh Luu
Had lived in Vietnam for 22 years. · Upvoted by · 7y
Sanjeev Ravindranathan, M.S Industrial
Engineering, Arizona State University (2018)Auth
or What
Related has 62 was theand
answers Vietcong tunnel
1.6M answer viewssystem
like? How did they build them?
Thanks for A2A, Joshua Alexander.

I had to do a serious research due to my limited


knowledge about this topic. The more I read, the
more I am amazed by what the previous Vietnamese
generations did during the war. In this answer, I
would only analyze the Cu Chi tunnel system - the
most famous tunnels in Vietnam War.

So if you think of Cu Chi tunnel as comfortable rooms


where you can do whatever you want underground,
you are wrong. We didn’t have that kind of luxury.
Remember you are fighting Americans, the most
powerful army in the world,
Continue with all kinds of aircrafts
Reading
and technologies actively sear
330 18

Mike Mckenna
Have owned a Clydesdale, Angus Cattle, Score… · 6y
of Dogs · Author has 1.2K answers and 2.3M ans
Related
werHow
viewsorganized were the North
Vietnamese in the Vietnam War?
Originally Answered: How organized was the North Vietnamese
in the Vietnam War?

I fought against them as a Marine in the DMZ in the


wonderful years of 67–68. They were tough,
courageous troops. Their attacks were meticulously
planned and carried out, but they seemed to fall
apart if something went wrong. They seemed to have
a lack of individual initiative if their Officers or NCO’s
were killed. Like the Japanese, they would fight to
the death. Very few POW’s. They invariably had
uniforms in good condition, plenty of ammo, RPG’s,
Grenades, water and food. The Ho Chi Minh trail was
very efficient in supplying them, and they learned to
Continue Reading
live off the land, especially in the DM
278 4 33

Sponsored by College Board

How do I choose my college major and career


path?
3 in 5 students said AP influenced their plans to
major in a certain subject. Find your passion with AP.

Learn More

259

Alex Gossland
Author has 7.7K answers and 24M answer views4y

The second picture shows a tank in the tunnel


system. In the South we found one system where
they had reassembled a chopper piece by piece to
study its weak points.
1

Related questions (More answers below)

What was a tunnel rat in the Vietnam War?


2,571 Views

How complex were the tunnel systems during


the Vietnam War?
1,040 Views

What were the most elaborate traps in the


Vietnamese tunnels during the Vietnam War?
959 Views

Why didn't the US invade North Vietnam during


the Vietnam War?
193,413 Views

What was the Vietnam War like for the


Vietnamese soldiers?
1,201 Views

David Stewart
Teacher from Australia. · Author has 15.2K ans… · 9y
ers and 59.4M answer views
Related What was the Vietcong tunnel system
like? How did they build them?
I'm no military historian or engineer, but I have been
down the tunnels at Cu Chi and I'd rank it as one of
the most memorable experiences of my travelling
days.

How large were they? Huge. The network was


incredible. The Vietnamese government has
preserved 75 miles of the Cu Chi tunnels and that
only represents a part of the network. It was
incredibly extensive.

How did they build them? They dug. A lot. They got
down there and dug. It should be pointed out that the
tunnels are not large in diameter. The Cu Chi tunnels
that are currently Continue
open to tourists
Reading have been greatly
enlarged and expanded bu
67 1

Sponsored by HIX Bypass

Hate AI detection software? Try HIX Bypass!


Bypass AI detectors such as Originality AI, Turnitin, ,
Copyleaks and more! Get 100% Human Score Now!

Learn More

60

WORKDONEG
Digital Marketers at Laligna (2020–present… · Sep 26
· Author has 8.5K answers and 3M answer vi
Related
ewsWhat stopped US from flooding or
gassing Vietcong tunnels in the Vietnam war?
There were a few reasons why the US did not flood or
gas the Viet Cong tunnels in the Vietnam War:

The tunnels were very extensive and


complex. The Viet Cong had been building
tunnels for years, and their tunnel network
was vast and complex. It would have been
very difficult and expensive to flood or gas
all of the tunnels.

The tunnels were in civilian areas. Many


of the Viet Cong tunnels were located in
civilian areas. Flooding or gassing the
tunnels would have put civilians at risk.

Flooding or gassing the tunnels would


have been ineffective. The Viet Cong had
built their tunnels to withstand
Continue Reading f

49 2 16

Ðặng Chí Công


Lives in Vietnam · Author has 233 ans… · Updated 2y
ers and 437K answer views
Related What stopped US from flooding or
gassing Vietcong tunnels in the Vietnam war?
Nothing stopped the US. They did try to flood, gas,
send in dogs to sniff out air and entrance tunnel, air
strikes, artillery strike, mining, motion tracking
devices, soundtracking device, send in soldier…all of
those solutions above have mixed result, which
usually didn’t satisfy the star and stripe of the US
army.

Most famous tunnel in Vietnam would be Cu Chi


tunnel, a tunnel system that ran hundred of miles
underground, connected dozens of villages and most
importantly, right next to Sai Gon, 50km on foot.
I have included one of the simplified
Continue Reading picture that
depict Cu Chi tunnel. You can see t
446 4 63

Sponsored by Freespoke Search

Where can I go for trusted election coverage?


The Freespoke Election Portal - with real-time
results, polling, news, and coverage from ALL sides.

Learn More

1.1K

Jeremy White
Studied Inter'l Relations from Boston Universit… · 9y
Author has 819 answers and 3.9M answer views
Related What was the Vietcong tunnel system
like? How did they build them?
The Cu Chi tunnels are the most famous ones but, in
my opinion, not the most amazing. The Cu Chi
tunnels had more than one entrance/exit. A favorite
tactic of the Viet Cong would be to let the Americans
pass by one entrance (which they did not detect) and
then crawl up from below behind the Americans and
surprise them from the rear- very effective.

The tunnels also featured conference rooms


complete with a table, and rooms which were booby-
trapped in case they were invaded. The tables were
constructed inside the tunnel as the entrance was
too small to bring the table in.
Continue Reading
But the most amazing tun
72 1

AnhMy Tran
Upvoted by Li Song, Docter Mathematics & 2y
History, Colleges and Universities (2020)Author ha
Related Howanswers
s 2.4K long did
andit take the
715.4K answerVietnamese
views to
build the tunnel systems and were they only
used in times of war?
Depends on the size of the tunnel systems. The
smallest on takes a day to accomplish. The biggest
one in Dien Bien Phu has never been done, by
hundreds of soldiers attacking the French army in
1954. Its total length may be few miles altogether.
There have been a tunnel contest in Vietnamese
army. A tunnel can be made in less than half of an
hour in the contest. A soldier can fit in this tunnel so
that the enemy from 40 yards away cannot shoot at
him, and he can shoot his enemy while the enemy has
no tunnel to hide.

The tunnels and tunnel systems


Continue in Vietnam can be
Reading
used only in times of war, and
374 1 5

DepressedLife
Knows Vietnamese · Author has 52 answers an… · 2y
257.9K answer views
Related What did the tunnels in Vietnam look
like?

Like this, but half the height and width. Average adult
(1,6 metres, or 5,2ft) can not stand.

There are many rooms. Also have kitchen, hospital,


sleeprooms. You can Continue Reading
consider it as an underground
hotel. But it’s not comfortable at all.
20 1

Fred Landis
Worked at University of Southern California · A… · 5y
hor has 13.8K answers and 29.4M answer views
Related What was the significance of the Cu
Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War?
That during 10 years of intense coverage of the war
in Vietnam, there was no focus on these tunnels. (By
intense, I mean the nightly weather report included
Vietnam).

Obviously the soldiers on the ground knew all about


the tunnels.

If a map of VIetnam had appeared, with all these


The structure is overcomplicated. No person knew
tunnels drawn, it would have been like capillaries
the total structure. There were lots of traps, an easy
covering the whole body.
poison gas prevention system, and many path.
Exactly like story
The official the maze
was in thethe
that myth
USor
wasancient
there legend.
to
protect the South from armed agression from the
North. The network of tunnels all over the South
would have exposed the lie and the difficulty of
winning.
Continue Reading
They were not just rabbit holes for escape.
13 1

Girolamo Betteghin
Product Designer at AXA (2016–present) · Auth… · 1y
has 8.3K answers and 2.7M answer views
Related How many tunnel rats served in
Vietnam?
There were never more than 100 Tunnel Rats in
country at any one time and around 700 in total.
There were 36 killed and 200 wounded.

Continue Reading

59 1 10

Related questions

Do you know anyone who was a tunnel rat in the


Vietnam War? What is that person like?
108,268 Views

How does the North Vietnamese tunnel system


in the Vietnam War compare to the French
Maginot Line of WW2?
879 Views

Why did the Vietnamese build tunnels during


the Vietnam War?
8,075 Views

What was it like to be a tunnel rat during the


war in Vietnam?
129 Views

Is it true or just TV that during the Vietnam war,


the US supplied the soldiers with pallets of
beer? If so, was beer/alcohol allowed to be
carried on a soldier in combat? Did the US
supply the soldiers with cigarettes? Does the
US do this today?
81,084 Views

What was a tunnel rat in the Vietnam War?


2,571 Views

How complex were the tunnel systems during


the Vietnam War?
1,040 Views

What were the most elaborate traps in the


Vietnamese tunnels during the Vietnam War?
959 Views

Why didn't the US invade North Vietnam during


the Vietnam War?
193,413 Views

What was the Vietnam War like for the


Vietnamese soldiers?
1,201 Views

Why didn't the U.S. soldiers dig their own


tunnel in the Vietnam War?
706 Views

Who was the tallest tunnel rat in the Vietnam


War?
292 Views

How did the Vietnamese survive in the tunnels


they built to evade American troops during the
Vietnam War?
764 Views

What did Vietnamese tunnels look like during


the Vietnam War?
1,629 Views

How effective were tunnel rats during the


Vietnam War?
3,261 Views

About · Careers · Privacy · Terms · Contact · Languages ·


Your Ad Choices · Press · © Quora, Inc. 2024

You might also like